Last Saturday night (26th October 2019), I set up my usual apochromatic refractor in my back garden.
2 stunningly beautiful coloured single stars stand out: X Cassiopeiae and V778 Cassiopeiae.
Starhopping to X Cass is all part of the fun. It's good to start from 3.3 magnitude star Segin (Epsilon Cassiopeiae), and then head southwards to a bright slightly variable 7.0 magnitude star called V777 Cassiopeiae. There is no problem finding that star. Directly downwards, which is an easterly direction, I could see a sideways triangle of 3 faint stars. Their magnitudes are 10.7, 11.1 and 10.2. Below them is X Cassiopeiae. It is a carbon star and I found it to be faint but it has a strong orange colour. It does vary in magnitude - from as high as 9.0 down to 13.2. On this occasion, it was easy to estimate its magnitude. Despite a very different colour to the star (Hip 8980) above it, it has an identical 10.2 magnitude.
I have recorded that magnitude on
www.aavso.org
Using my 2 degree 2 inch eyepiece which gives me 40X, I find in the same field of view another a unusually coloured star. V778 Cassiopeiae is every so slightly variable star. It is one of those strange K7 stars. Its standard magnitude is 8.3. I found it bright and a golden brown coloured star.
I did zoom through using magnifications 40X, 112X, 140X, 167X, 225X and 280X on both stars. They lose none of their colours at high powers.
X Cassiopeiae is my 73rd observed carbon star.
V778 Cassiopeiae is my 4th K7 star.
Thank you for reading.
Comments are always welcome.
Clear skies from Aubrey.
  